New Beginnings

At the end of this school year, I will be leaving the classroom after almost four decades teaching grades 1 – 8. Other than a few years in between when I took on other roles in education, I’ve dedicated my professional life to teaching in mostly self-contained classrooms. During the 2024-2025 school year, I will assume a 0.5 resource teacher position at my current school.

I have mixed feelings about this, of course.

Leaving the classroom is a big deal.

I will miss the excitement of getting my classroom ready in September.

I will miss welcoming a new group of eager students, some ready to learn and others who aren’t convinced they can learn anything at all.

I will miss introducing students to reading and writing workshop.

I will miss teaching math.

I will miss those moments when students suddenly realize they now understand something that had previously puzzled them.

But…

I will not miss all the administrative tasks teachers are required to do now.

I will not miss spending three or more weeks, including weekends, working on getting report cards just right even as the comments become less and less personal and more cookie cutter to the point where they are meaningless and embarrassing to me as a professional.

I will not miss dealing with caregivers who don’t respect teachers as professionals.

I will not miss not being able to use the bathroom when I need to.

I am looking forward to…

working with teachers and students.

having more control and fewer headaches.

being able to teach more and manage less.

And I’m hoping that I can do relevant and meaningful work with teachers and students to influence teaching practice and student learning.

And, thanks to #AngelaStockman, I am inspired to document my learning journey and that of my students.

But, for now, I’m off to enjoy my summer break.